Kings County Oated Bourbon Drammers Club

Tropical Storm Henri pours down it’s rain, but the bite of the wind is nowhere to be found. The hype was bigger than the bark. On this gray Sunday, I pull a sample from the backlog. Something warming and American is what strikes the mood. After resting for a bit, spiced cream soda with the spices cinnamon, nutmeg. Hints of wood, Baker’s chocolate and vanilla. Hot on the initial draw, but creamy. Working past the zingy tongue, wood spices, dark caramel or molasses. However, discerning much at this high proof is challenging and a splash of water is needed. Water is definitely a must to soften the palate zing. Slightly sweeter with water. Burnt or darkened S’mores, and orange marmalade. A odd blend, but this odd coupling is somewhat complimentary. A long and lingering burnt toast note keeps the palate bitter with the marmalade tucked in the depths of the palate. This starts off simply with the tandem of sweetness and spice (baking spices). Flavorful but sparse in depth palate. The creamy mouthfeel and texture keeps the dram buoyant. The burnt S’more flavor is unique and can be off putting or enjoyable. A decent whiskey with a good punch. Thanks @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. [86/100][Tasted: 8/22/21]

Rating: 15/23 I'm curious to see how the higher proof affects this. I found that the lower proof was a bit weak flavor-wise (likely due to the young age), but was also too tannic. Also, how the oats play in here. N: This smells less sweet. I actually get a bit of a tart nose here that I think I should be able to associate with some fruit, but that just isn't happening. Wood, some sweetness that has a hint of chocolate. I enjoy the wood's mustiness. P: Yeah, this packs a lot more of a punch than the lower proof one did. There's a hint of fruit this time that is kind of interesting. Is's almost faintly like...apricot? There is plenty of wood (sawdust) for sure here and there's more burn than in the lower proof version. I definitely get allspice with a bit of chocolate. There isn't a ton going on here, but it is fortunately less tannic than the lower proof version I tried. This isn't as sweet as my bottle of Garrison Brothers Single Barrel Cask Strength and the corn and sawdust don't show through as much either. I'd say that the Garrison Brothers is more complex and nuanced, whereas this is bolder with maybe a bit of creaminess from the oats. F: Mercifully, not overwhelmed by over-steeped tea (though it is definitely pushing it). I get a faint hint of apricot remaining and also the same wood with chocolate. - Conclusion - I miss the sweetness and grain of the lower proof offering from Kings County and from Garrison Brothers. The richness here is nice and I'm glad that it's comparatively less tannic than its lower proof cousin, but it's a bit lacking in sweetness and complexity. For a bit of a hedonistic diversion though, this is OK. With all of its rich chocolate, it does remind me a fair amount of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520. Kings County is on the right track in that it makes me think of such a terrific bourbon, but this just doesn't have the same complexity. It's tough to rate this one. I appreciate the pure hedonistic sippability of the chocolate flavor, but at the same time the tannins are borderline overwhelming and the complexity is just not there. Although I did compare this with Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B520 (which I scored a 22) that was essentially a statement that they both have a nice rich chocolatey flavor. I think that this one needs a lot of work to get to that level. Still, Kings County has some good flavors in this barrel. Roughly two of them, so they've got some work to do when it comes to getting more complexity into their drams and taming the tannins. I seriously considered giving this a 14 and I vaguely, briefly thought that it might be better than a 15. I think though that 15 is the right score here. Thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for sharing this sample - it's exciting to see the potential of what Kings County can produce!

I first had a small 3 cl pour of this, before I actually went ahead and ordered the full 200ml bottle. This was an exclusive NY Drammers club pick of Kings County Oated bourbon, which is the only Oated bourbon made by them in their ten years of distilling. Oated bourbons aren’t very common, considered more as “experimental “. Generally, I’m hesitant to get a full bottle of anything with a tagline of “experimental”. But this lives up to expectation. Nose is incredible...like allspice and sweet cream. I’d rank 5/5 stars just on the nose. The palette is a bit of a step down, but still damn good, with silky texture, leather and cloves. At over 60%, this bad boy benefits with a liberal dose of water. Extremely unique. I’m glad to have bought a 200ml bottle. @Richard-ModernDrinking and @worldwhiskies95 curious to get your take on it